Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

Constituted under the EPA, 1986

• GEAC is constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• Its authority flows through the 1989 Rules on hazardous microorganisms.
• GEAC clearance is mandatory before any GM crop is released into India’s environment.
• Sources: Environment Ministry and GEAC.

Housed in the Environment Ministry

• GEAC sits within the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• It is not under a biotechnology ministry.
• It has no link to the Food Safety and Standards Act, the Geographical Indications Act or the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

A renamed committee, and a broad membership

• It was first the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee.
• It was renamed Appraisal in 2010. The legal basis stayed the same.
• The MoEFCC Special or Additional Secretary chairs it.
• Members include experts from ICAR, ICMR and other bodies.

Beyond crops

• GEAC also appraises industrial and research use of hazardous microorganisms.
• Its job is not limited to farm crops.
• Read the 1986 Act in the Environment (Protection) Act lesson.

Bt cotton, the precedent

• Bt cotton remains the only commercially approved GM crop in India.
• It was cleared through the GEAC process.

Bt brinjal: approved, then overruled

• GEAC approved Bt brinjal for commercial cultivation on 14 October 2009.
• That would have made it India’s second GM crop.
• Public hearings ran in seven cities. Many participants were opposed.
• On 9 February 2010, the Environment Minister overruled the approval.
• He imposed an indefinite moratorium, citing no scientific consensus on bio-safety.
• It is a moratorium, not a permanent ban. Bt brinjal has never been released commercially.

GM mustard: approved, then in court

• GEAC approved environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 in October 2022.
• Activists and the NGO Gene Campaign challenged this in the Supreme Court.
• In 2024, a two-judge bench gave a split verdict.
• The Court asked the government to hold national consultations toward a GM-crop policy.
• The case remained under consideration as of 2025.
• Source: Supreme Court of India.

Exam traps

• GEAC is under the environment law, not a biotech law.
• Approval of a crop is not the same as commercial release.
• Only Bt cotton is commercial. Bt brinjal and mustard are not.